


[>down five]

by gamergrrl



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Implied/Referenced Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 22:35:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15034766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gamergrrl/pseuds/gamergrrl
Summary: A slight retelling of the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case. What if the events leading up to Sato's death had been a little different?





	[>down five]

**Author's Note:**

> this is a giant word vomit. not super duper proud of this, but it was begging to be written so here u go!! (btw this doesn't take all of dr3 into account bc i hate it and therefore it's not canon)

Everyone’s already gone home after deciding not to get involved in the murder. So it’s just Mahiru and Kuzuryuu Natsumi’s dead body, alone in the classroom. 

 

_ Snap!  _

 

Mahiru’s camera clicks as she takes photographs of the scene. The others have all left for after seeing the body, but Mahiru figures she should take a couple of photographs in case the police ask any questions. 

 

Even though Mahiru can’t really see the other girls’ skull from her angle, she can only imagine that Natsuki’s skull must be shattered.  _ Dead is dead is dead _ , her mother used to say. But what startles 

 

The blood’s everywhere. On the floor, on the windowsill, all over Natsuki’s uniform. Mahiru shudders. She’s never been super good with crime scenes. 

 

The camera prints the pictures out, and Mahiru shakes them to get the full color. The body and the shattered vase show up in full color, almost as if they were taken digitally.  Hiyoko always makes fun of her for having such an old camera, but it was her mother’s, so it’s got sentimental value. 

 

And even if it  _ is  _ an old camera, it still works fine, so it’s not even a huge deal. 

 

_ In any case...I feel awful for Natsumi,  _ Mahiru thinks.  _ She didn’t deserve something like this.  _

 

All of a sudden, Mahiru pulls out the photograph she took earlier that day, smiling fondly. Mahiru counts herself as lucky -- definitely  _ not  _ as lucky as Komaeda -- for getting to have such wonderful friends

 

_ Natsumi...I wonder if there was anyway I could’ve helped you... _

 

Everyone’s probably gone by now, so Mahiru heads out of the building. She fails to notice two figures, one with strawberry blonde hair in two pigtails and another with short black hair,  looking after her.

 

“Finally...Things are getting real interesting,” the blonde says, smirking. 

 

\---

 

Hiyoko calls them all together the next day, wanting to talk about what they saw just yesterday. Mikan wonders aloud if they’re doing the right thing since they kept it a secret. Mahiru’s been wondering that too, and decides quickly that she’ll have to show them the photos she took. 

 

“-You agree, don’t you, Mahiru?” Sato asks. Mahiru snaps back to reality to see everyone looking at her. 

 

She smiles weakly. “Y-Yeah, I guess…”

 

Unfortunately, Ibuki is quick to call her out. “You don’t  _ sound  _ super sure of yourself!” She squwaks. 

 

Mahiru bites her lip.  _ Okay, now I  _ **_have_ ** _ to come clean.  _ “Uh, actually, there’s something I have to show you guys.”

 

Here goes nothing. “To tell you the truth...I took some pictures of that girl yesterday.”

 

Sato jumps back, her eyes wide. “W...What? You took pictures of the body?”

 

Mahiru looks at the floor. “I thought the police might question us...and that I should take some pictures to be safe.”

 

“S...So where are those pictures now,” Mikan asks, quivering.

 

‘I have them here,” Mahiru replies, holding the pictures out.  _ This was the right thing to do,  _ she tells herself calmly. 

 

Ibuki says something about a curse, which only seems to make Mikan quiver more. Hiyoko stays silent, but Mahiru, even though she  _ knows  _ something like that wouldn’t happen, feels her stomach drop. 

 

Sato snatches the photos out of Mahiru’s hands and rips them up. “Those photos made me sick...I’m glad I tore them up. I think I’ll go burn the scraps too!”

 

“Y-You shouldn’t have done that!!! Now we’re really going to get cursed,” Ibuki moans. 

 

“S-Shut up! I told you there’s no such thing as curses. A-Anyways,” Sato says, looking away from them, “We should forget this entire thing! We never saw anything! That murder has nothing to do with us, even if we discovered the body. That’s all there is to it!”

 

By this point, Sato’s completely hysterical. It’s unlike her to get worked up over such a thing. Mahiru thinks it’s just because she saw a dead body for the first time. 

 

Sato sighs. “Let’s just go back home! It’s getting late…”

 

\---

 

Mahiru didn’t think of it at the time, but it’s entirely possible that Sato knows something the rest of them don’t. 

 

She knew Sato never really liked Natsumi to begin with, but Mahiru can’t imagine that Sato...her very best friend...someone who Mahiru trusted -- no, still trusts…

 

Her phone pings. She opens it to find two texts : one from Sato, and one from an unknown number. 

**sato-chan (´・ω・｀) (18:57):** mahiru, can we talk after school? 

 

Mahiru smiles despite herself. She’s sure Sato didn’t do anything, and that she wants to meet up to assuage her fears. 

 

**mahiru (19:03):** ofc we can sato-chan!!

 

**sato-chan (´・ω・｀) (19:04):** good. meet me behind the school building @16:00. 

 

Mahiru types back a thumbs up, and then opens up the other text. She’s not entirely sure how someone could’ve gotten a hold of her number, but it’s got to be someone from Hope’s Peak. Not knowing what to expect, Mahiru reads it anyways. 

 

**unknown (18:45):** Hey there sweetheart!! I think I have something you might like to hear!!

 

Mahiru scoffs. If they sent this a full twenty minutes again, it’s clear that it isn’t urgent. However, her curiosity gets the better of her, so she starts typing.

 

**mahiru (19:05):** who is this? and what do you know that’s so important, anyway?

 

The stranger replies almost instantly.  _ They must have a lot of free time on their hands…  _

 

**unknown (19:06):** Who I am? Not important for the moment.

 

**unknown (19:06):** I know that you and your friends found Kuzuryuu Natsumi’s body. And I know that it was Sato-chan that killed her. 

 

**unknown (19:07):** I think the two of you should to talk. 

 

\---

 

Sato admits to the murder. Mahiru can’t bring herself to act surprised. 

 

“Just because she gave me hell, as you put it,” Mahiru begins, “doesn’t make it okay for you to murder her!”

 

“It was either that or you die!” Sato screams, walking towards Mahiru. “The choice was obvious! She threatened to  _ kill  _ you, Mahiru, how could I let that go?”

 

“None of that matters! You’re no better than her!” Mahiru screams back and shoves Sato away into the dumpster. 

 

Sato slumps and doesn’t move. “S...Sato-chan?” Mahiru asks hesitantly. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get that angry…”

Sato doesn’t respond. Mahiru squats and pokes Sato’s cheek. “Sato-chan…” 

 

Mahiru starts panicking, backing away from the (seemingly) dead body, clutching her hair.  _ You killed her,  _ an evil voice in her head says.  _ You killed her you killed her you killed her  _ **_is this what despair really is YOU KILLED HER YOU’RE NO BETTER THAN EITHER OF THEM YOU ABSOLUTE M O N S T E R--_ **

 

“I’M SO SORRY!” Mahiru screams, running away from the courtyard, away from her mistakes, and away from the body of her best friend.

 

What she doesn’t realize is that Sato, by some random miracle, drifts in and out of consciousness. “Mahiru...I’m sorry I couldn’t be strong enough…”

 

And then, unknowingly, she closes her eyes for the last time. 

 

\---

 

**kuzu-chan (20:00):** enoshima. 

 

**kuzu-chan (20:00):** did mahiru do it? 

 

**kuzu-chan (20:00):** still can’t believe she was involved with something like this…but it doesn’t matter.

 

**kuzu-chan (20:01):** sato is going to pay. 

 

**enoshima (20:01):** Awwww poor kuzu-chan…Although that’s what I like to hear!

 

**kuzu-chan(20:01):** don’t call me that. 

 

**enoshima (20:02): *gasp*** How rude!! I did you a big favor, you know. 

 

**enoshima (20:02):** Anyways, Mukuro tells me that Mahiru knocked her out, but Mukuro is making sure Sato-chan stays knocked out hehe. She’ll leave the body in a spot for you to pick it up to finish the job tomorrow morning!

 

**enoshima (20:04):** Make sure you give ‘em a real shocker, yeah? :D

**Author's Note:**

> it's implied that mikan is already in despair, and helped kickstart this chain of events by giving Mahiru's number to Junko. fuyuhiko kills sato sometime in the morning and leaves her body in the classroom (i think there's more despair, bc then it's harder to cover it up)
> 
> uhhh leave a comment/kudos if u liked and thanks for reading!! have a great day!!


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